2 ms·

>Anyway the problem isn't the ignoring of the masses. It's that there has been a failure to communicate in a way they can understand. Free trade isn't responsib

by gozur88 10y ago

>Anyway the problem isn't the ignoring of the masses. It's that there has been a failure to communicate in a way they can understand. Free trade isn't responsible for the loss of their jobs and globalisation was always going to happen. By and large the people who benefit the most from free trade and immigration aren't the people who pay the price. We could have fashioned policies such that both the benefits and the pain from globalization were spread more evenly, although there would have been a cost in terms of overall growth. This isn't a communication problem. The problem is trade policies, environmental regulations, the legal environment, and immigration policies reflect the concerns of well-educated upper-middle-class and wealthier people to the exclusion of everyone else.

generic_user 10y ago
The gap between the upper 5% and the bottom 95% is larger now then at any time since he 1930's. Thats not an accident its a predictable consequence of the Free trade agreements that were enthusiastically promoted and enacted by the that same 5% at to top that has benefited so spectacularly from them.
- pnathan 10y ago
  >The gap between the upper 5% and the bottom 95% is larger now then at any time since he 1930's. Thats not an accident its a predictable consequence of the Free trade agreements that were enthusiastically promoted and enacted by the that same 5% at to top that has benefited so spectacularly from them. That's an oversimplification. You have to work backwards into the Reagan era and the deregulation from the 70s before you can start really taking NAFTA into account. If you want to throw turds at the top earners, look at the total system and don't just blame single causes. It's a very complex economic system. Further, consider the advantages of free trade: millions (billions?) of people in China have gotten better lives. Protectionism and mercantilism is not a great system for increasing total wealth...
pnathan 10y ago
There's a narrative that the blue collar class have that politics is dirty and you shouldn't get involved. Then, because those who show up to vote affect the election... > The problem is trade policies, environmental regulations, the legal environment, and immigration policies reflect the concerns of well-educated upper-middle-class and wealthier people to the exclusion of everyone else. Welp, if you don't show up to vote, you don't get to push your policies and concerns directly. Instead you have to organize in more indirect ways.

by gozur88 10y ago

generic_user 10y ago

The gap between the upper 5% and the bottom 95% is larger now then at any time since he 1930's. Thats not an accident its a predictable consequence of the Free trade agreements that were enthusiastically promoted and enacted by the that same 5% at to top that has benefited so spectacularly from them.

pnathan 10y ago
>The gap between the upper 5% and the bottom 95% is larger now then at any time since he 1930's. Thats not an accident its a predictable consequence of the Free trade agreements that were enthusiastically promoted and enacted by the that same 5% at to top that has benefited so spectacularly from them. That's an oversimplification. You have to work backwards into the Reagan era and the deregulation from the 70s before you can start really taking NAFTA into account. If you want to throw turds at the top earners, look at the total system and don't just blame single causes. It's a very complex economic system. Further, consider the advantages of free trade: millions (billions?) of people in China have gotten better lives. Protectionism and mercantilism is not a great system for increasing total wealth...

pnathan 10y ago

There's a narrative that the blue collar class have that politics is dirty and you shouldn't get involved. Then, because those who show up to vote affect the election... > The problem is trade policies, environmental regulations, the legal environment, and immigration policies reflect the concerns of well-educated upper-middle-class and wealthier people to the exclusion of everyone else. Welp, if you don't show up to vote, you don't get to push your policies and concerns directly. Instead you have to organize in more indirect ways.